Back when he left the Patriots for a second time to take over as a head coach, with the Raiders this time, Josh McDaniels certainly dealt with his share of player issues. McDaniels’ signing of Jimmy Garoppolo as quarterback was unpopular in the locker room, former Patriots star Chandler Jones lashed out at McDaniels before the 2023 opener and was eventually cut from the team, and McDaniels was eventually fired after a player revolt headed up by future Hall of Famer Davante Adams, among others.
A cryptic video of Stefon Diggs on a boat with women and a mysterious substance, then, is not something McDaniels can’t handle.
Diggs is the star receiver that the Patriots signed to a $63 million contract to be the team’s WR1, after years of fielding disappointing pass-catcher crews. Diggs had six straight years of 1,100-plus yards receiving before last year’s injury-shortened season with the Texans.
Patriots Josh McDaniels: ‘I’m Not Concerned’
After Diggs missed OTAs in late May following the release of the video, he did show up this week. McDaniels said it really hasn’t affected the offense’s development.
“It’s a voluntary time of year, we know that,” McDaniels said. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had perfect attendance at these things in general. As a coach, selfishly you love it when they’re all here because you feel like you’ve got them all in the classroom and all on the field and all the rest of it.
“I know he has stayed up on the information and the material. There’s so many opportunities to teach all our guys going forward, between the rest of the practices in the spring, and through the summer and the many days we have before we actually kick the ball off in September. I’m not concerned about Stef in that regard.”
Stefon Diggs Looks ‘Astounding’
The bigger question with Diggs remains his recovery from the injury that ended his 2024 season, a torn ACL suffered in late October 2024. While there have been positive reviews on Diggs and his rehab, ACLs are not to be trifled with, and the Patriots could start Diggs on the physically unable to perform list.
But when Diggs did show up for OTAs this week, he impressed.
“I thought it was astounding,” veteran Patriots analyst Tom E. Curran said on Boston TV this week. “This is a guy we didn’t think would be available for the beginning of the season, and to see him after not taking part in either of the first two OTAs in a full measure, none at all last week obviously, but to see him taking rep after rep after rep after rep in 11 on 11.”
Curran said not only did Diggs look ready for the opener, he looked like he could be ready during training camp.
“To me it’s astounding because I’m thinking to myself, ‘Is he going to be ready for the beginning of the year? Is he going to be up to speed at that point?’ I would be surprised if he wasn’t available at some juncture during training camp,” Curran said.
